About us | Mō mātou

The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry was established in 2018 to investigate children, young people, and vulnerable adults’ experiences of abuse and neglect in State and non-State care in Aotearoa New Zealand between the years of 1950-1999.

The Royal Commission ended on 25 June 2024. Its final report and recommendations Whanaketia, Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light Whakairihia ki te tihi o Maungārongo was publicly released on Wednesday 24 July on its website(external link).

Work to coordinate the Government response to the Royal Commission is led by the Crown Response Unit.

The Unit is committed to listening, learning and changing | mā whakarongo me ako ka huri te tai. 

Our goals are to make sure:

• survivors are heard, and feel heard
• harm is acknowledged
• the government care system is improved
• this type of harm never happens again
• Māori experiences and their impacts are recognised and respected
• disabled peoples’ experiences and their impacts are recognised and respected.

How we listen and support feedback

If we engage with you and you share your feedback with us, we will:

• be guided by our six principles (below)
• listen and treat you with respect
• support you to stay safe before, during and after your engagement with us
• keep your information confidential as per our agreement
• protect your right to privacy and your information.

For more on how we engage, keep information confidential and protect your privacy, we have a consent form for our engagements:

Consent form engagements [DOCX, 43 KB]

See the engagement agreement in an alternate format:

• easy read [PDF, 6.5 MB]
• large print [DOCX, 108 KB]
• New Zealand Sign Language(external link)
• audio [MP3, 5.9 MB]
• braille. [ZIP, 6 KB]

How we work

We are guided by six principles when we approach our work.

1. Manaakitanga
   We aim to treat everyone fairly and with compassion and respect. We aim to uphold the mana (dignity) of all involved.

2. Openness
   We are open to new ideas. We can reconsider how things have been done in the past and the way agencies operate now.

3. Transparency
   We share our knowledge. This includes information we hold and the reasons behind key actions.

4. Learning
   We take care to listen to survivors. We aim to learn from the Royal Commission, and use what they share to improve care.

5. We work together with others
   We join with other agencies to work together. This is to make sure our response to Royal Commission feedback is coordinated and well supported.

6. Meet our obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi | Te Tiriti o Waitangi
   We aim to meet our Treaty obligations. We are working to build a stronger relationship with Māori. We do this through the way we work during this process and after it.

How our work is governed 

Strategic governance of the Crown response is provided by a Chief Executives Group chaired by Deputy Public Services Commissioner Rebecca Kitteridge.

The Chief Executives are from:

• Ministry of Education
• Manatū Hauora - Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Social Development
• Oranga Tamariki
• Whaikaha-Ministry of Disabled People
• Ministry of Justice
• the Crown Law Office.

The Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions is Hon Minister Erica Stanford.

Our Director

Isaac Carlson is the Director of the Crown Response Unit.

Isaac (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) was previously Head of Injury Prevention at ACC, where he worked since 2007 across all aspects of prevention, care and recovery. He has worked collaboratively across the public sector in strengthening partnerships, supporting the delivery of public sector strategies, and supporting the development of whānau-centred well-being models.

Isaac started on 1 February 2023. He replaced Alana Ruakere.